[BL] CRAVING HIM: Addicted to His Voice-Chapter 246: Our Love, Rewritten From Possession to Promise

~Zayn’s POV~

A tear slipped down his cheek, and he didn’t even try to hide it. "I’ve been a bad boyfriend, Zayn. I haven’t been a man at all. I was demanding, controlling, possessive, and I treated your body like it was an entitlement. Like it was just another luxury I bought and owned."

His voice dropped to a barely audible whisper, thick with shame. "I think about the first time we were together, how I was your first man, the one who ever penetrated you, who changed that part of your life forever. And I realized... I was never gentle. I was never truly gentle with you, Zayn. I was just taking what I wanted, using sex as a weapon to maintain control, to keep you tethered."

He looked into my eyes, his voice steady but filled with emotion.

"In the past, if we’d been apart this long, I would’ve shown up at your door desperate to touch you—to have sex—because that’s how I thought we stayed connected," he admitted quietly. "But I’ve realized there’s nothing truly sexy, romantic, or meaningful about that if sex is all we ever do. It’s not love if it only happens on my terms."

The weight of those confessions hit me hard. Hearing him acknowledge the deepest, most damaging aspects of our relationship, the sexual control, the lack of consent, shattered my composure. I gasped, and the tears I had been holding back for months finally spilled over, blurring the lights of the city.

Evric cried too, his hand gripping mine tighter. "Listen, Zayn, you still attract me like the first time we met. I still want to make love with you so bad because I enjoy doing it with you. But from now on, I want both of us to want it."

He took a shaky breath, the raw commitment in his voice making my heart ache. "I went back over our past, and I realized that most of our intimacy was only done because I wanted it, and you participated because you were desperately trying to keep me. That stops tonight."

"I will keep myself, Zayn," he vowed, the tears streaming down his face, earnest and absolute. "I will never ask again. You have to want it. We have to agree to it. And I’m willing to wait for you for as long as it takes."

He bowed his head over our clasped hands. "Please, don’t forgive me yet. Don’t rush back. But please, please, never give up on me. I will become a better man for you. I will give you no reason, ever, to regret the day we met." 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

He lifted his head, tears carving paths through the smooth skin of his face, yet his gaze was steadier than it had ever been. "I mean every word, Zayn. And I don’t need you to move back to my house right now. Take your time, please."

He pulled a trembling hand to cup my cheek, wiping a tear away with his thumb. "When you finally do move back, you won’t be moving in just as my boyfriend. You’ll be moving in as my officially promised husband. I mean that. When you’re ready to continue our relationship, when you finally forgive me, I’m going to make a formal, public move to marry you. Not just be your boyfriend. This is my promise."

The weight of his words hit me hard, marriage, not just living together. It was overwhelming enough to nearly break me all over again.

Then, his face twisted with the memory of the night that started this nightmare. He closed his eyes briefly.

"I need to say this, too," he whispered, forcing the words out. "I am so sorry for the night I got drunk and ended up in Nicki’s apartment. Zayn, please, please forgive me when you can. I regret that night more than anything I have ever done. I am sorry for not being able to control myself over the news and the stress, for not thinking about you first. I didn’t reach out to you or my family; I ran to the bottle, and that was unforgivable."

He looked at me with pleading eyes. "You have to believe me, Zayn—I didn’t sleep with Nicki. I couldn’t defend myself before because I know how it must look. You know I love sex, and I was terrified you’d assume the worst. But I swear to you, no matter how much I crave it, I would never go looking for it elsewhere. My body only ever wants you. I planned this dinner because I was scared you’d give up on me and walk away."

He kissed my hand, his lips wet with his own tears. "If you give me another chance, I promise I will be careful. I will think of you first. I will be your rock, not your burden."

"This is all so new to me, Zayn," Evric confessed, his vulnerability complete. "This is the first time I’ve truly loved someone who challenges me. At first, I thought being demanding and jealous was the right way to show love, but I was wrong. Now I’m learning. Everything I’ve been through has opened my eyes. I’m starting to understand what it really means to be a man, how to be the kind of husband you deserve."

He leaned back, his eyes searching mine desperately. "I’m begging you to be patient, Zayn. I know I have years of growing up to do, but I promise that before these three months are over, I’ll become the man you’ve always dreamed of, the man you can’t live without. I’ll make you proud."

Evric lifted his hands, a hopeful shine in his gaze. "I’ve apologized for the past. Now, I’m asking for the future. Will you give me a chance to prove myself, my love? Will you let me win you back?"

I didn’t need to speak. The tears pouring down my face were my answer. They weren’t tears of pain anymore; they were tears of relief, of profound recognition, and of the fierce, messy love that was finally, truly, healing.

I leaned forward, my vision swimming, and reached out to Evric. I gently cleaned the tears from his cheeks with my thumb, then took his hand, gripping it tightly.

"Evric," I whispered, my voice thick with emotion. "I know how much you want me around you every minute. And yes, when I met you, you kind of took away my freedom, but you also gave me the real thing I’d never experienced before: love."

I leaned forward, my vision swimming, and reached out to Evric. I gently cleaned the tears from his cheeks with my thumb, then took his hand, gripping it tightly.

"Evric," I whispered, my voice thick with emotion. "I know how much you want me around you every minute. And yes, when I met you, you kind of took away my freedom, but you also gave me the real thing I’d never experienced before: love."

I squeezed his hand. "But that love was damn messy. Our love was toxic, Evric. If I wasn’t patient enough, we would have broken up a long time ago. I am willing to grow with you," I said, looking him straight in his tear-filled eyes. "But don’t just say it. Show it and prove it to me."

A watery smile touched my lips. "You know how much I love you, right?"

Evric nodded, unable to speak, fresh tears welling up.

"Will you make me proud and never make me feel wrong for choosing you?"

He nodded again, deeply. "Yes."

"Then," I said, my heart finally making peace with the present, "I will give you a chance to prove yourself."

Evric looked at me, and a huge, choked sob escaped him. He brought my hand to his lips and kissed it repeatedly. "I love you, Zayn. Thank you so much."

As our tears subsided and we managed to compose ourselves, Evric reached under the table. He pulled out a small, velvet box and placed it on the table next to a set of keys.

"What is that?" I asked, my voice still raspy.

Evric didn’t open the box. He took my hand and stood up. "Come with me."